The day came for Ian to move out, it took only a morning for him to gather his possessions and take them back to his parents house in just a few car trips with his Dad. Looking around after he had left Jack realised what had happened for the first time, he was living on his own. Everything behind the door at 19a Middleton Avenue was now in his domain, the fact that he couldn’t afford it and that he was facing a massive financial disaster was for an hour or two irrelevant.
This blissful state didn’t last forever though and by the evening he found his mind filled with worry and entirely occupied with dread of the future. He contemplated giving up and moving in with his parents again, this would be the mark that his adventure into life had failed for the time being but left more important questions such as how he would ever move out again and if he did who he would have to live with in order to sustain life away from the family. If he didn’t meet the girl of his dreams and settle down in a home with her then it seemed that he would never be able to move out unless he would share a house indefinitely. In the state that he had worked himself up into these seemed to be impossible things to contemplate without meeting a terrible and depressing answer. That night Jack fell asleep on the sofa in the dark, silent living room that he had only hours ago joyfully believed had become his own little kingdom.
A busy week of work passed by and Jack managed to raise his mood to a level where he was nearly his usual cheerful self. He had just been keeping his head down and counting down the days to the end of the week where luck had delivered him three days off work in a row. He had decided that he needed to relax properly as the next rent payment closed in, he had not found anybody else to live with him yet and decided to try to go it alone just for the month ahead. He had tried to get a friend or two to go on a quick single night camping trip but nobody was able to make it, this gave Jack an idea that he could’t believe he hadn’t had before. After finishing work on the night before his break he had bought as much junk food and fizzy pop as he could carry and headed home to add it to the tent, sleeping bag and clothes he had already packed. He was in bed with the lights off by ten, an early morning was called for.
The next morning Jack set his plan into action and by eight o’clock he had walked up the hill to The Sweet Forest and left his tent and sleeping bag hidden in the trees alongside one of the long forgotten paths that he had discovered on his adventures over the years, he then had to make a trip back home to collect his clothes and food. The whole process took about four hours, he had finally got all his supplies to the trees and hidden just in time for dinner, after waking early and skipping breakfast Jack was more than ready to eat. He left his well hidden cache and took his backpack to one of his favourite viewing spots. It was the highest place that he could see the town from and at midday on the clear summers day that it was the town looked almost surreal, as if he was looking at a small model town that a train enthusiast would have made for their models to clatter alongside. Everything was lit up in brighter colours than usual and the lack of haze meant that it seemed as if he could make out every detail. As always the view had an almost instant calming influence, as if nothing mattered and the town was just a small part of a much bigger world. In this relaxed state Jack opened his backpack and pulled out his lunch, two packets of crisps, a cheese and onion pasty and a bottle of water. Perfect.
Jack spent the afternoon walking around and investigating all kinds of new potential pathways through the trees, stopping every now and then to have a quick read of his book, he had picked it up cheap from work, Frankenstein, one of the classics. Dipping in and out of Mary Shelley’s work made the day pass a lot quicker than Jack had imagined, even the long summer days did not last forever. Jack thought it best to find a field to pitch his tent in before he set about getting something to eat again. He was surrounded by private farmland which is why he had never even considered camping up here before, but now he felt as if he was being a bit daring and brave, escaping the problems of the real world to come and hide on the hillside.
Finding the perfect spot in a slight hollow of a sloping hill Jack pitched his tent, he did not have the best view in the world as the need to keep out of sight of any passing farmers forced him to this lower ground. To the rear of the tent stood the forest, in the slowly fading light it took on the appearance of a dark wall rather than a woodland filled with life, to either side the field rose up in its slightly hilly fashion and to the front of the tent Jack could just about see over the grassy bank if he sat up straight and see the flatlands off in the distance away from the town.
Pitching the tent had been no trouble, after the experience he had had with camping Jack was able to get a good little home set up for himself in a matter of minutes. Even though he was a few miles away from home and had only a low topped tunnel style tent for shelter Jack immediately felt safe, it was a feeling he could never quite figure out. During the day he had not been worried or concerned about where he would sleep and how the night would pass, he had not thought about the problems facing him at home or let his mind drift to things in the future, yet still after this worry free day as soon as his tent was up he felt relief. It was a good feeling, one of contentment as if everything was fine. Even though he could not even stand up inside the tent as it was so low he still felt as if it was enough to be utterly relaxed in.
After putting the finishing touches to his camp Jack set up the small camping stove with a tin of vegetable soup to heat up, as he sat just inside his tent stirring the soup and finally eating it with two more packets of crisps a calming cool dusk set in. The sky was clear to begin with but clouded over very slightly as it turned from light blue through the sunset oranges until it emerged a dark purple, the first stars starting to shine through. Rinsing out the tin and making sure he had something to wear over night Jack decided to settle down, it was barely anything past nine o’clock but even on this short trip away from home the usual camping sensation happened to him. Without any distractions such as the internet or television or any of the general things around the house to occupy him Jack found himself at ease to the extreme, there was nothing to worry about, nothing to keep him awake, nothing to do in the best possible sense. After he had read a few pages further he switched off his torch and lay down surrounded by the sounds of nature and a warm, thick sleeping bag.
The next day Jack awoke to find his tent lit up by the sun, the brightness was unbearable as he tried to focus his eyes, he quickly unzipped the door and stumbled out onto the grass looking into the sky he discovered the sun high up above the world, he had overslept by quite a margin. He checked his phone for the time and was surprised to see that it had passed eleven, the phone had been stuffed down the far end of the tent with his clothes so his alarm had been and gone without disturbing his sleep at all. Not to worry too much Jack thought although he would make sure he kept the phone nearer to him tonight, he thought it best to get up early so that he could collapse the tent and hide his things back inside the woods just in case any potentially unfriendly farmers happened to spot it during the daylight hours.
After getting rid of the evidence that he had ever been there Jack filled his backpack with the usual crisps, drinks and cereal bars and set off for a good days walking, he thought he would see how many of the local villages he could see in a single day and set off on what turned out to be a twenty-four mile walk. Following the old country lanes and crossing a few fields it was amazing to be reminded just how big and empty the countryside was, he passed over the border from England to Wales and back again a number of times although he did not know at which points this occurred exactly. He took a pleasant slow pace for the day determined not to walk around with his usual unintentional rush, stopping to eat and drink and take in the views frequently Jack did not return to set up his camp again until the sun was setting. During the day he had seen only a handful of cars and just three people out walking, it was something that he couldn't understand, he was used to going out in remote locations where he didn’t expect to see many people
but here he had barely travelled further than eight miles away from his home town at the furthest point before snaking his way back across the countryside. It was as if he was one of the last people on earth at some points during the day he thought, casting his mind back through the route he thought that there had been a four hour stretch where he hadn’t seen a single person. The fact that it was a weekday helped explain the emptiness but Jack knew that most people just didn’t care about seeing the things around them, the scenery and grand views that he loved so much where largely irrelevant to peoples lives. This was the thought that ran through his mind as he lay drifting off to sleep that night. Was it sad? Was it good for him that the countryside was not filled with people enjoying all the things that he had had all to himself for the last few years? He could’t come up with an answer before sleep took him to many different places.
Jack awoke with a jump the following morning, his alarm had done its job well today. He was sad to think that this was his last day out of town before work called him back into society again, at least he was up early to enjoy it. The sky was still the telltale pink and orange of a just passed cloudless sunrise and there was a slight chill in the air remaining from the starlit night he had just slept through. With this fresh feeling Jack went through the routine of packing away the tent and hiding it behind the trunk of a fallen tree. He was determined to make the most of his last day.
The day passed in a blur of walking, eating and reading, Jack repeatedly contemplated just how good life had been for the last few days, he had near enough lived in perfect peace, only seen a handful or cars and people during the entire time and had nothing to do but enjoy nature as nature is. By late afternoon he was making his first trip back to town carrying his rubbish bags and the food he had not eaten, the sleeping bag and tent still hidden he knew there was no rush, on getting home he had a quick shower and sat down for a while on his now almost extravagant feeling sofa. He prepared his work clothes for the next day and checked exactly what time he needed to be there for, he was working a nine till six shift, one of the better times to work in his opinion. When everything was ready for work Jack headed back out knowing he could take as long as he wanted to come home as the few chores he needed to do had now been done. He reached his tent with what he thought was a risky idea, he would stay up in his camping spot tonight as well and then get up early in the morning go to his house, get ready for work and spend the day there before going home again at night.
It had been running through his mind during his walk back up and it wasn’t until reaching the tent and sleeping bag and seeing them all packed up that Jack made the decision, within minutes he was pitching the tent and unrolling his sleeping bag inside. He was filled with excitement at this small gesture of adventure, even though he knew that an early morning and therefore early night were called for it felt as if it was a real adventure, as if he was a wild man from the woods who would come down into society without anybody knowing where he came from or went to, Jack knew this was only a ridiculous fantasy but could not help wishing it were true. With these grand thoughts Jack set his alarm for six-thirty and by ten past nine at night had already fallen asleep.
Jack awoke just before the alarm went off, a bird or some other creature must have stirred him he thought. It was a good thing really Jack thought as he looked around at the fields, the sun still hand’t risen but the sky was starting to light up. He took the early waking as an opportunity to get straight to work on folding up the tent and rolling up the sleeping bag, it would be a longer walk down carrying these, something Jack had not considered when setting his alarm. As he made his way down the hill the sun rose and started its climb into the sky for what was looking like another perfect summers day, Jack stopped by a gateway to give himself a rest and enjoy the sight. He checked the time and knew he would not make it back in time if he fetched the tent and sleeping bag all the way, with a sigh of relief he hid them amongst the hedgerow and then picked up his pace to make it home in good time and end up at work ten minutes early. He spent the day with a smile on his face, knowing he had just managed an impossible feat in his mind, to wake up in the perfect surroundings of nature and still make it into work without anybody even suspecting anything different had gone on.
As soon as he was out of work Jack practically ran home, he had decided to try sleeping by the forest for another night, once again he would have to get up early to get himself to work the following morning but Jack now saw that as part of the fun. He got home, threw together a quick meal of chips, beans and cheese, jumped in the shower and then set off for his new holiday home. This time it was getting late by the time he picked up his tent from the hedgerow he had abandoned it in hours before and it was not until the sun had started to set that the tent was being put up, during this time Jack discovered that in his excitement he had left his torch at home. With no torch he could’t carry on reading his book, or do much else, so with only his tent, phone and a sleeping bag Jack had very little to do, it was later than usual anyway so jack wrapped himself in his sleeping bag and lay outside the tent for a while watching the stars appearing as the suns light disappeared altogether, what a perfect end to the day he thought. He stayed there for nearly an hour until it got too cold to stay outside, getting into the tent it took him only a matter of minutes before he fell into the warm grasp of sleeps wandering arms.
The next day passed in much the same way as the previous, although after learning his lesson Jack left the tent and sleeping bag just hidden behind his camping spot so that he could walk home at a good pace. He went to work and was able to get an early finish which gave him an extra hour to contemplate his plans for the fast closing in evening. Now that he had been camping for two work nights in a row Jack had realised that it was easily possible for him to keep on camping until the weather, or a disgruntled farmer drove him off the hill. This led to him to challenge himself to stay up there for as long as he could, luckily he now had another two days off work and felt he could take the time to plan and organise what he would need for an extended stay by The Sweet Forest.
During the late afternoon and early evening Jack used his living room to lay out all of his bits and pieces of camping equipment and any other potentially useful things to life in the outdoors. Interestingly the more he thought about what he really needed to take with him the less he seemed to find a useful purpose for. In the end he ended up walking back up the hill wearing his backpack and feeling that he was traveling lightly as all he had were two torches, a camping stove, soap and a towel and a little food for the next few days. He would fetch up some more clothes the next time he had been down to town so he could be prepared for any weather conditions. As he walked up the hill he occasionally heard the camping stove rattle in his backpack, it was a sound he had heard many times over the last few years, it was the sound of adventure.
The Real Summer
If a man gives up everything will he end up with more than he started with?
As Jack once again set up his camp his mind moved from thought to thought with a peaceful flow, he was now so used to throwing the tent up and pressing the pegs in to the ground that he no longer had to concentrate, his mind had taken full advantage of this to fantasise about how his challenge of living on the hill might turn out. All of his previous images of himself as an adventurer and a wild figure at one with nature had taken on a new gravity, for once Jack thought that they were finally becoming true, he could now start believing in them without feeling embarrassed by how absurd they seemed, that is what he told himself at least.
The evening turned into nighttime in the same manner it had done previously, a perfect clear sky slowly turned to the deep dark blue that in turn became speckled with shimmering stars. Jack took a few minutes before bed to walk around the field and enjoy the still fresh sense of adventure and excitement that had put him off his tea. Looking off into the distance he could barely make out any features between him and the horizon. He paused for one last look before getting into the tent, i
t felt like the world was a blank canvas, nothing but him, the sprawling blackness of the ground and the stars above. Why had he not done this before? The question sent him off into a very peaceful sleep.
Waking the next day Jack could tell from the brightness of the tent that it was later than it should have been, looking to his phone he saw it was nearly ten in the morning, he had forgotten to set his alarm, no big deal he thought, now he was well rested and ready for his first real day of the challenge. How many more days could he manage? He contemplated this while he threw on some clothes and set about packing his tent and hiding his camp for the day. The sun was beating down already giving a warmth to the air that promised a scorching hot day, the sky was as blue as Jack had ever seen it and the view to the horizon was almost entirely clear of haze, what a day to be out.
Jack thought it would be best to avoid any long walks in the direct sun for the day and instead turned his attention towards walking through his beloved paths in the woods, he had a few places that he wanted to check out for any potential usefulness to his adventure. He walked round the main routes that everyone knew first of all just to refresh his memory before turning off down the paths that were so abandoned that they were now barely paths at all. Jack wasn’t sure whether or not it was his overall excitement at his undertaking or if it was the incredible summers day but everything seemed so much more idyllic and perfect that morning.
The Sweet Forest Page 2